This year’s 24th Natchez Festival of Music was fabulous, and the Festival could not have pulled it off without this community’s help and support — and the genius of our artistic director, Dr. Jay Dean. For that, please accept our sincere thank you for helping us grow the Festival.

The Festival presented 12 ticketed performances and an educational lecture, and it reached more than 7,000 students in grades kindergarten through sixth for our children’s opera, “The Bremen Town Musicians” about solving problems through teamwork.

It was a great season with the world-renown “Classical Mystery Tour” in tribute to The Beatles coming to America, filling the Natchez City Auditorium with the largest crowd in decades, including locals and visitors from throughout the Miss-Lou and beyond.

The feedback from our patrons has been terrific. Everyone loved the Oscars and Rossini, Puccini and Martini events, as well as our blending of music with cuisine and wine tasting. The tribute to Mississippi’s own Leontyne Price was a favorite, as was Jonathan Levin’s piano recital. The Big Band jazz and musical H.M.S. Pinafore brought out the best in us all. None of us will forget the sensational performance of Maryann Kyle in tribute to Maria Callas or Tosca directed by LSU’s Robert Grayson. The outstanding talented performers from around the globe auditioned in New York and here in Natchez. They were selected for the right mix of bright young singers and musicians. We’ll soon be talking about programs for our 25th season and about opportunities to hear wonderful music between now and then.

So many people contributed to the Festival’s success that it would be impossible to list them all. The press we received could not have been better— and we are thankful for that interest and support. We are especially appreciative of our loyal patrons, contributors, sponsors, advertisers, the hotels, B&Bs and restaurants and our housing, food and transportation angels. Significant improvements were made to the Margaret Martin Performing Arts Center, and the community has been able to enjoy the “Natchez Apollo Theater,” which has been fun. The support we received from the State of Mississippi, the Natchez Convention and Visitors Bureau, the City of Natchez, Adams County, the Chamber of Commerce and the Historic Natchez Foundation was heartwarming.

We look forward to this next year as the Festival continues its efforts to reach an even broader base through its continued affiliation with the National Geographic U.S. Gulf Coast States Geotourism MapGuide and Governor Bryant’s Year of the Creative Economy project — and of course, we hope to remain on the list of favorite Natchez attractions.

Thank you to everyone who played a part in this successful season. Please continue to help us grow artistically and as an organization. Our website, natchezfestivalofmusic.com, is constantly updated, so please visit it often to see what we are doing throughout the remaining of this year and for our 25th season scheduled for next May 2015.

 

Mary Lessley

Chairman Natchez Festival of Music